How a simple posting to a local electronic bulletin board brought throngs to the writer's front door in an effort redirect attention to the good and glory of our world

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What blessing is recited only once a year, in the spring?

The answer is the blessing upon first seeing a tree in bloom, a blessing known in Hebrew as "Birchas Ha-Ilan" (the blessing of the tree).

According to the Jewish tradition, when you first see a fruit-tree in bloom in the spring, you recite a special blessing. This blessing praises G-d for His ongoing renewal of creation and thanks Him for creating good trees in the world, for man to enjoy.

At a time of year when the world is suffused with beauty, our tradition calls upon us to stop and give thanks for the glory of G-d's creation. We are surrounded with colorful blossoms: the magnolia trees blush pink, the cherry trees are adorned with pink and white blooms, and the lilacs are studded with lavender blossoms. We take a moment to leave the confines of our offices, classrooms and homes and make our way to our yards and fields and drink in this beauty and give thanks.

We have a fruit-bearing apple tree in our yard, and each spring, our family gathers in the yard and recites the blessing on first seeing its lovely pink and white blossoms.

This year, thanks to our local electronic community bulletin board, many more people came to our yard to make the blessing on the tree.

A few weeks ago, our community bulletin board asked people to post locations of blooming fruit-bearing trees in our area. While we have a plethora of blooming trees in our area, it's difficult to know which of them are fruit-bearing. The blessing should not be made over a barren tree, so it's a help to know which ones are suitable.

This year also saw a late spring that made it hard to find a blooming tree in time. The blessing is optimally recited in the Hebrew month of Nissan, the month when Passover falls. This spring, Nissan was almost over, and our apple tree still showed no blooms. While the prayer can be recited after the end of Nissan, Nissan is preferable.

On the second to last day of Nissan, bright pink blossoms began to peek out from under the leaves of our apple tree, and I dutifully posted to our bulletin board. For the next few days, people dropped by to make the blessing over the blooming tree. It was not hard to discern which visitors had seen the post to the bulletin board  they would be the ones holding the computer print-outs, walking up and down our driveway, scrutinizing the tree for blossoms.

People dropped by hurriedly by on their way to or from work, and we had a delegation from one local company that came en masse during their lunch break.

The blessing on fruit-trees is recorded in the Talmud and found in many prayerbooks, and it is translated roughly as follows:
Blessed are You, Hashem, Our G-d, King of the Universe, for nothing is lacking in His universe, and He created in it good creatures and good trees, to cause mankind pleasure with them.

Most prayerbooks list it amongst all the blessings of praise and gratitude to be recited over various phenomena and events, such as the blessing over seeing lightening or upon seeing a rainbow.

The preferred time to recite the blessing is the Hebrew month of Nissan, immediately upon seeing the tree in bloom (meaning, the flowering of the tree, not the appearance of the leaves). If one forgot or neglected to say the blessing , it can be recited any time until the fruit of the tree has begun to grow. Likewise, if the tree bloomed in Nissan and one didn't see it till later, he can say the blessing, as long as the fruit of the tree has not yet ripened.

Some traditions dictate that when one recites the blessing, there must be at least two trees, but others say one tree is sufficient. The ideal way to recite the blessing is in a blooming orchard planted outside the city limits, in the presence of a minyan followed by Kaddish. In Israel, groups of school children go to the fields with their classes, to recite the blessing.

The main idea is that one put oneself in a context where he can feel inspired by the glory around him. Many people who dropped by our home to make the blessing on the tree said Birchas Ha-Ilan is one of their favorite prayers, because they feel G-d's love for mankind and can give thanks for it.

As the text of the blessing says, we are giving thanks to G-d for creating trees from which man can take pleasure. The delight of the beauty we see is available to all kinds of people - even the most impoverished person or debased criminal is treated to the same beauty as anyone else, as he traverses the world. It's a gift from G-d to Man, just because he is a "ben adam," a descendent of Adam, one of G-d's creations. It's a testament to G-d's love, that He gives even when one doesn't deserve it.

One cannot help but wonder  why does the text of the blessing refer to good creatures as well as good trees? According to the Ben Ish Chai, a kabbalist and leader of the Jewish community of Baghdad a century ago, seeing the blooming of the tree teaches us an important lesson. When seeing how the tree, which was during the winter dry and withered, is now in full bloom, we, and even the most hopeless person, can be revitalized. When we watch the transformation of nature, we gain the courage and inspiration to lift us out of our despair and it reminds us that G-d has given us the tools to revitalize ourselves.

We live in a time when it's a struggle to keep hope alive. The trees in our neighborhoods, whether fruit-bearing or simply deciduous, are tied with yellow ribbons that have been on so long they are sun-bleached and faded. All that is decent in mankind seems to be up against forces so irrational and evil that peace seems to be beyond what any human leader can negotiate.

And yet…the trees give us a message of hope. They show us how after a period of barren emptiness, there is a stirring of life and a new beginning, how even in the seeming barrenness of the winter of our lives, the process is already in motion which which will usher in the flowering of a new season. A G-d who can bring blossoms to a barren tree can bring an era of redemption. Our tradition calls us out to the fields, so we can bear witness to the way G-d loves all mankind, whether we deserve it or not. We give thanks, and perhaps a silent prayer, with a flutter in our hearts full of hope, that an era of redemption will sprout as the barren branches give forth blossoms, and we and our children will live to see an era of peace.